The Blossoming of Love
by jmac857
Summary: In an alternate universe that takes place after the events of Xenoblade Chronicles, Shulk is alone but, after a chance encounter with a girl named Lucina, his world changes. What will happen? Will there be a blossoming of love?


Shulk woke up. He gazed upon his new world. A world without gods. Life was good. The easy life as they say. A few days ago he had made the decision to have humans live the way they wanted. The new place called Celestia was going to be the foundation of a greater new major town. New people came from all around in this new settlement. The new world was filled with adventure and excitement. Their new universe was still a mystery to them. It was the dawn of a new day. As Shulk went to the main streets, he was greeted by many people. This settlement was just starting to grow, people started to get to know each other. Shulk was a bit shy. He greeted back people but still felt uncomfortable. He then went to see his usual friends, said hi, and left to his main job. All he could ever want was to constantly explore and discover. The city life was fine but he liked to constantly go outdoors and do research and exploration. He still had a lab in town but had built it so it could be a lab and starting base for exploration. It was on the outskirts of the town which made it practical. He was alone and didn't mind it. Well so he thought. Deep down was hidden a void in his heart, being alone wasn't right for him. But he continued as usual. Some experimenting, doing all the things he had to do and then going out to explore. When he explores some of his friends sometime join but they have busy schedule so not always. Today he was alone. It was cloudy, not everything was looking so bright. There was something today, he thought. Sorta like the winds of change.

As he was leaving he accidentally bumped into this girl. She was quite shy.

"I'm sorry!" Shulk

"You're fine!" she replied

"Are you sure?" Shulk answered

"Yeah I'm good, I was just on my way home!"

"Oh ok!" Shulk answered

As they left, she turned around, and asked from afar

"Hey what's your name by the way?"

"I'm Shulk and you?"

"I'm Lucina, nice to meet you!"

"I never asked where you were going?" She asked

"I'm going to explore, if you want to talk more maybe come closer, better than shouting if you ask me" Shulk replied

"You're right hahaha" She answered laughing

Why is she laughing he thought, it wasn't funny what he said. Does he have a secret unknown comedy talent. Maybe not actually. His friends are constantly scolding him for making very bad jokes. Maybe this Lucina will laugh at them.

"Why go explore? Aren't you comfortable with city life?" She asked

"I have the urge to explore and discover, it's kinda in me you know! I have this cool lab I can use but it also functions as a base for explorations." Shulk answered

"Can I come, I wonder what that type lifestyle is!" She asked

"Don't have you anything to do? I guess you could come if you don't have anything else to do…" Shulk answered

"Noooooo, come on let's gooooooo!" Lucina answered back

They left for his lab.

"Here comes the boring part, this is the lab part where I analyze and observe stuff" Shulk said

"This is interesting, not my cup of tea but quite interesting hahaha" She said

"I imagine, here's the exploration base!" Shulk said as they went into a completely different room

"Wow there's so many maps and all, did you draw them? I love drawing!" Lucina asked

"Someone else drew them, I can't draw hahaha! Anyways today I felt like exploring this ridge nearby, I want to study the rock composition." Shulk said

"I'll be going then! Thanks for showing me this place! I'm kinda new here so I'm happy I at least know someone! Lucina said leaving

"Sure I guess you can come by anytime!" Shulk answered back

That girl was interesting indeed he thought. Kinda odd but kinda nice too. He wondered if he will see her again. Sure enough the next day,

"Hey Shulk are you there?" Lucina asked, entering the lab

"Yes, who is it?" Shulk asked

"It's meeeeeee, Lucina"

"Hey there!" Shulk answered back

"Today I'll be showing you something" Lucina firmly said

"But I've got work to do today, not gonna explore but I've got lots of studies to do" Shulk replied on sad tone. He totally wanted to go but he couldn't.

"It can wait, come follow me!" Lucina said grabbing his hand

Her hand was warm. A good kind of warm. He could feel her enthusiasm and her energy. She was something special. Whatever. Work can wait. He let her guide her.

She took him to a hidden place on the city limits. He was surprised how hidden it was. It was a small spot of nature in the city. There natural springs and a big fountain that originated from the peak of the surrounding rock formations.

"This is where I come for inspiration and to escape from reality. Don't tell anyone about it ok?" Lucina said

"Never knew about this place, it's really nice over here" Shulk said

"It's well hidden for a reason, I enjoy going here to be alone but with you it ain't so bad!" She said smiling

"Appreciate it" Shulk said

Wow he thought. This place is really nice. The more time he spent with her the closer he felt to her. He had first met her yesterday yet he felt already close to her.

"This where I hang out the most so feel free to come whenever!" Lucina said

"I'll be out exploring but I'll probably come time to time!" Shulk answered back

" F-f-for real?" Lucina asked with a little blush

"Of course! We're friends now aren't we! I don't know many people here so I guess you're stuck being friends with me!" Shulk said

"I don't mind haha" Lucina replied

Funny enough she somehow managed to get Shulk out of his usual shell. He who had always been introverted.

As time went by the two became closer and closer. Lucina went to see Shulk everyday before he left to explore and Shulk dropped by time to time to that special place.

 _A few days later, at night_

Shulk had taken the day off and because so, he hadn't seen Lucina that day. He was walking on the outskirts of the town near his base.

"Hey Shulk! What are doing this late in the day?" Lucina asked

"I'm just walking and enjoying the sights, you?"

"Nothing much!" Lucina replied

"You know, it gets really pretty out here at night. Nature's beauty in the dark. It's illuminating us while in the dark. Feels like nature's way of guiding us through the dark." Shulk said

"I guess you're right. There's always something to guide us through the dark." Lucina said

" Hey how about we go see all of this up close!" Shulk proposed

"J-j-just the two of us?" Lucina asked blushing

"Yeah! Like always! You'll see it's really cool and pretty!" Shulk replied

"Let's go then, into the field!" Shulk said

Shulk grabbed Lucina's hand and led her into the field. Lucina was very happy. She had met Shulk not too long ago but she felt a connection to him. She knew one thing though, she loved him. He was more than a friend, he was something special to her. What should she do.

Shulk let her into the giant (similar to Gaur Plain). It was way different than during the day. At night the sense of scale and exploration had disappeared it was very calm and quiet. Nature was their guide tonight. Some flowers had a purple fluorescent glow to them which illuminated the entire field in a magic purple glow. Some fluorescent algae were showing their colors in the water which gave a beautiful turquoise glowing color to the water. In the trees, some animals with an orange glow to them were eating the fruit which illuminated the fruit. Also on the trees some of the bark was giving off an orange glow to them. All of these colors mixed together created a magical aura. This was nature's spectacle and even Shulk and Lucina were illuminated in purple because of petals flying onto them. They were apart of it too.

Shulk led Lucina to a small natural waterfall. Behind the waterfall was a mix of different plants glowing with a thousand colors which illuminated the waterfall in a multiple colors. The sound of the waterfall was smoothing to the ears. Everything was natural. Shulk felt at ease with Lucina and he could feel it was reciprocated by her. They looked at each other and they smiled at each other (Lucina was blushing but Shulk didn't notice). They were still holding hands but they had both forgot.

"This is amazing Shulk, thanks for bringing me here!" Lucina said

"I'm glad I'm here with you! I love this world cause you're in it!" Shulk said smiling

In that moment both of their worlds changed forever. Something magical had happened that night. It wasn't the atmosphere, it wasn't the lights or the various scenery. Nature had light up the dark in their hearts. At that moment, Shulk realized that he was in love. Pure love. He had to be with her no matter what. No matter how long it would take. He could wait for ages if he had to. She was worth it.

 _The next day_

Shulk was awaken by some loud noise. Indeed, because they had been out too late, the town gates had closed so they both had had to stay at Shulk's base. Luckily there was two bedrooms in it so they both had a comfortable place to sleep.

"Lucina, is everything all right?" Shulk asked

"Yeah! I just tried making breakfast for you but some pans fell." Lucina

"Oh you don't have to! I'll be alright with what's left in the pantry." Shulk said

"No don't sweat it, it'll do you good to eat some good cooking for once!" Lucina replied back

"Well ok then, I won't argue. Thanks a lot!" Shulk answered back

Lucina had prepared a delicious breakfast. Shulk loved it which made Lucina very happy.

"Today's the weekend, let's do something together!" Lucina proposed

"Today is the summer festival, why don't we go check it out!" Shulk answered

"Sounds good to me! Let's go!" Lucina replied

Lucina couldn't believe it. Last night was magical and now she's spending the day with Shulk! Wait a second, this is like a date, she thought, holy smokes this is amazing!

I guess it's just me and her, Shulk was thinking, this is exactly what I want.

They arrived at the festival. It was very lively. Full of energy, full of joy, everyone was having fun.

"This looks like so much fun!" Lucina said

They started out by exploring, seeing everything the festival had to offer. It was a beautiful day, today was the first day of summer. Spring had ended, it was time to let place for the sunny and bright days. The festival was quite big, it was the culmination of town's efforts to display what had been achieved ever since it had been founded a few months ago. They played many games together, Shulk was quite good at the strategy games while Lucina was better at the competitive games. She often yelled in rage when she lost, but Shulk didn't mind. He even was inspired by her to let his rage out which was unusual for him since he usually keeps it in. Funny how much she changed him, he thought. Then came the time when they had to cooperate to win a game. It was the most incredible experience as they were very coordinated without saying anything. It was like they were connected. They both had somewhat different mindsets but they completed each other very well.

Suddenly a loud noise was heard. Shulk and Lucina both hurried to see what had happened but nobody knew. They then found someone who knew, apparently an outside creature had started attacking the town for no reason. Shulk knew the outside world better than anyone so he hurried to check it out. If anyone knew how to handle it, it would have to be him he thought. He started running leaving Lucina in the process.

"Nooooooooo, don't leave, I have something important to say. I don't want you to get hurt! You're too important to me for that!" Lucina cried out loud.

He didn't hear her so she ran after him. She wasn't about to let him handle this by himself. No way. He was too important to her. She didn't want him to do anything alone from now on. They would do things together as she felt they were connected.

She arrived at the town gates where Shulk was. She could see him trying to calm the creature but it wasn't listening. It was too big and too furious. Suddenly it turned around and saw Shulk and as it was about to attack him something magical happened.

"SHULKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" She cried out while running in front of him to protect him.

"Listen up, don't think you're alone, I know you care about others more than anything as that's what you've shown me. People do care about you very much, I care about you very much so please let us handle things together. Even if we get hurt together that's how I want it to be. I don't want to be alone anymore, I want to be with you now. Every second of my life."

As she said that the creature suddenly stopped. Apparently Lucina's word had somehow gotten to it. The creature looked calmed down. It looked at Shulk with a determined glare and left. Shulk was left shaken with no words.

"I-I-I didn't know you felt that way. You know I left without thinking but all that was on my mind was you. I left cause above all I wanted you to be safe. I'm sorry. So sorry." Shulk said

"For real?" Lucina said blushing

"Of course. Last night and today were the most amazing days of my life. If you want to spend the rest of your time with me, then that's how I want it too!" Shulk said

"Then you'll have to make me one promise, that we'll be together forever no matter what." Lucina said

"For sure. I love you Lucina." Shulk said

"Me too." Lucina answered back

They kissed and then hugged. They both knew they had a bright future ahead of them. Together. They had fun at the festival for the rest of the day and partied all night. Together. This was a kind of different love. It was pure and genuine affection. Shulk loved this feeling and Lucina too.

Well friends, I hope you enjoyed this. Love is so complex and different, it's not black or white and it's different for everyone. One thing I know is that love is everywhere. I hope you enjoyed it and may you find and enjoy love in its many forms. It's what makes living so much fun.


End file.
